Who works for these brokers?

Why do you have to slide the tandems back? Is it some sort of forklift stability thing?

 

It sure is when they load heavy pallets. I do it all the time for my own benefit too. It saves the trailer suspension.

 

I wish they always gave me a steel wire or a bolt seal, for a load where a seal is such a big deal.

 

How much was paid though?

 

The plant I'm working out of is part of a LARGE paper company - they make trees into paper, paper into paper products, then recycle the paper products. One of the plants in their "Business Unit" doesn't have dock locks. All plants in the BU then have to use glad hand locks. One plant does almost exclusively food grade, customer transport (ie reefer trailers with air ride), and found that chocking both sides of the trailer prevented the trailer 'walking' away from the dock. All plants in the BU have to chock both sides of the trailer. At our plant the roll stock docs are at at ground level, so the approach to the docks is at a HUUUGGGGE incline - drop a trailer in the yard at 'proper height' and the yard jockey puts it in the dock without adjusting the landing gear, no one is getting underneath it again without 20 cranks in high range. If a forklift goes in when the tandems are in front of the 42' mark, it's not getting back out. Thus All plants in the BU must have tandems slide to the back. Recently, the dock workers at one plant F'd the F to the ##### MAX when they loaded a trailer (improperly baled, improperly banded, improperly loaded, and improperly strapped). The product shifted in transit and almost crushed the driver when the driver opened the door. Now we have to "safety strap" the doors before we open them. So sometimes it's a company wide requirement regardless of site specific needs.

Having the tandems to the back does make a more stable platform for the forklifts, especially when there is a downhill grade to the docks or you are dealing with air ride trailers. However most of the time the requirement to slide the tandems has less to do with safety and more to do with Safety Dave keeping his job. That said, a carrier used to have the contract for one of the customers (and how I wished they kept it). The plant requires that all tandems need to be slide to the back before loading. In my time on TTR, I have b*****d long and hard about my company's maintenance standards and our 'drivers' inability to write stuff up. My mega has nothing on this small carrier - every time the yard jockey saw them entering the yard he would have to stop whatever he was doing and make sure they slid their tandems back before getting the paperwork for their load. Almost 1/3 of their trailers the tandems wouldn't slide - broken pins, out of alignment sliders, etc. The plant can't load trailers without the tandems to the back - not because it's unsafe, but because if Safety Dave sees it, they lose their job.

Now if Safety Dave was really concerned about safety, he would do something about the burned out lights (75%), the buckled asphalt in the drop trailer area, or the undermined concrete in the docks. Or install deicers on the shroud covering the docks so that 5 trailers don't get their roofs caved in when the snow has accumulated enough to break free and we have to shut down shipping for 5 hours so a plow company can come in and clear the docks (it took the yard dog hooking to the trailer and me pulling with a tow strap to get the trailers out). In other words, forget Safety Dave.

 

?
All of it.


......do you not get paid what you invoice? Or ?

 

Just because you invoice something doesn't mean you always get paid for it, that's why I asked.

 

Jesus. I'm sticking with flatbed, lol.

 

Just you wait . . . Safety Dave just got a 98 on THE AUDIT. Highest in the BU.

That means he's looking for a promotion . . .

Coming soon to a flatbed near you - all drivers must wear a safety harness and face shield when tightening straps.